Zealous for Good Works (Titus 2:14)

Why did Jesus redeem and cleanse his people? Several answers could be given to that question, such as he loved them eternally, that he was sent by the Father to redeem them, and that he wanted them to be with him forever. Another answer is that he wanted them to live devoted lives for the glory of God, and Paul has this answer in mind when he says to Titus that the Christians in Crete, who had been converted recently, should be zealous for good works.

Of course, there are certain qualifications that must be made regarding zeal. It is obvious that merely being zealous by itself could be dangerous. There must be both right motives and right goals in doing whatever we are zealous about. Therefore, we must concentrate on what is right and Paul here says that what we should be zealous about is good works. He does not mean only acts of charity, which is how the term ‘good works’ is often used today. Good works are the opposite of sinful activities. 

 

Definitions of Christian zeal

It will be useful to know some definitions of Christian zeal. J. C. Ryle wrote an essay on such zeal and here a couple of quotations from it. Christian zeal, he said, ‘is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire, which is not natural to men or women. It is a desire which the Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when they are converted to Christ, however, a desire which some believers feel so much more strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called "zealous" men and women.’

 

Ryle continued: ‘A zealous person in Christianity is preeminently a person of one thing. It is not enough to say that they are earnest, strong, uncompromising, meticulous, wholehearted, and fervent in spirit. They only see one thing, they care for one thing, they live for one thing, they are swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God. Whether they live, or whether they die – whether they are healthy, or whether they are sick – whether they are rich, or whether they are poor – whether they please man, or whether they give offence – whether they are thought wise, or whether they are thought foolish – whether they are accused, or whether they are praised – whether they get honour, or whether they get shame – for all this the zealous person cares nothing at all. They have a passion for one thing, and that one thing is to please God and to advance God’s glory.’

 

When I became a Christian several decades ago, one of the popular authors was a man called William MacDonald who wrote a book on True Discipleship. He began a chapter on zeal with these words: ‘A disciple can be forgiven if he does not have great mental ability. He can be forgiven also if he does not display outstanding physical prowess. But no disciple can be excused if he does not have zeal. If his heart is not aflame with a red-hot passion for the Saviour, he stands condemned.’ 

 

Biblical description of a zealous person

Who do we look for when wanting a role model about living for God? The first person to consider would be Jesus because he is our best example. Then we should consider examples of Bible characters who are commended for their zeal as well as biblical verses that require zeal in believers.

 

An incident in which Jesus revealed his zeal is recorded in John 2:13-22, where he showed great zeal in removing sinful practices from the temple. He overthrew the tables where people exchanged money and he drove out the animals. Initially, people may have been surprised by what Jesus did because money was needed to pay temple taxes and the animals were needed for offering sacrifices. Yet he saw that the sellers were not interested in the things of God but in making a commercial gain. In contrast, he was consumed with his Father’s glory and he knew that those wrong practices should be removed from the temple. So his fervency and zeal for God led him to take action. No doubt many truths can be seen his response, but we can mention that his zeal displayed righteous indignation that the things of God were being used for ill-gotten gain. He did not merely criticise, he also confronted the issue. And he did so with fervour, without losing control.

 

A Bible character who is commended for his zeal is Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, who was commended by God for executing a man who was defiling the people of Israel through a blatant expression of immorality (Num. 25:11). Phinehas’ action in doing so was pleasing to God and removed the need for further divine judgement. He showed true zeal because he was committed to the honour of God. That is a basic requirement which is also an expression of love to God.

 

Jesus called the worldly church in Laodicea to repent of their sins towards him. What kind of repentance did he require? He said they should have zealous repentance (Rev. 3:17). This must mean that there should be energy in it, that it should be marked by expressions of eagerness to be restored to a warm relationship with the Saviour. While it would not be right to say that they had to work at repentance, it is right to say that their repentance required passion as they lamented their failures and sought forgiveness for them. Shallow repentance is shallow. Of course, such fervent repentance comes from God through the working of the Spirit. Yet since Jesus called them to possess and express such repentance we can expect him to answer pleas for it.

 

A fourth reference to zeal is mentioned by Paul in Romans 12:11: ‘Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.’ There is a strong similarity between zeal and fervency of spirit and we can only serve the Lord suitably when we have such eagerness in our hearts. In Romans 12:8, he had called on leaders to lead with zeal (translated diligence) and in verse 11 he says that zeal should be a mark of all believers.

 

From these four biblical references, we can see that a person with true zeal puts God first, is distressed when his ways and requirements are ignored, does something about the wrong practice, feels strongly when he personally repents, and serves the Lord with enthusiasm. In showing true zeal, such people are Christlike, pleasing to God and meaningful contributors to church life.

 

Paul, as we know, was by nature a zealous man. He revealed that this was part of his temperament in the way that he persisted in persecuting the church. Did this mean that when he was converted, his natural zeal now renewed began to reveal itself in holy ways? I would say that the answer is yes. Then what about unconverted people who seem passive and disengaged about most things? What happens to them after conversion? I would say that an essential feature of authentic humanity, which had been asleep when they were unconverted, becomes alive through the work of the Spirit and shows itself in dedicated and loving service of the Lord.

 

Zealous for good works

We know that words change their meaning over time through adjustments in everyday use. One such change has occurred with the idea of good works. Today, the description is almost a synonym for works of charity, of occasional expressions of neighbourly kindness. Since the meaning has changed, it is possible for us to insert the contemporary meaning into the biblical statement and misunderstand what the verse means.

 

Paul refers to good works several times in this brief letter. He says in 1:10 that false teachers are ‘unfit for any good work’. Titus himself is told to be ‘a model of good works’ (2:7). In 3:1, the good works of Christians should commend them to the government and in 3:8 they are to ‘devote themselves to good works’. The requirement in 3:8 is virtually the same as the statement ‘be zealous for good works’. We can see from those references that Paul regarded good works as essential for Christians.

 

So what are the good works that Paul expects the Cretan believers to perform? The basic answer is that they are what is required from us by God in the commandments of his Word. When practised for the right reasons, they are expressions of love for God and for people. 

 

It is important that they are practised for right motives. A person can give a gift to someone hoping for something in return. That is not a right motive and it disqualifies the action from being a good work, even if it seemed a correct one. Or he could do something because he wanted other people to think that he is better than others. That again is not a right motive.

 

What is the post powerful motive for doing good works, for obeying the commandments of God? The motive must come from gratitude to the God who planned our salvation, who sent his Son to be the Saviour, who brought us from death to life by the Holy Spirit, and who promises to bring us eventually to glory.

 

It is easy to see what a good work is from a biblical point of view. But why should we be zealous about doing them? Here are four reasons. 

 

First, living in this way is a very good witness to the grace of God. Others will see how great has been the change in our lives. People often will not hear our words, but if they know us they will see our lives. They will wonder why we now live as we do. Such living is attractive. A happy Christian living a devoted life engaged in good activities is a powerful witness to the gospel. Jesus said about his disciples in Matthew 5:16: ‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.’

 

Second, the desire to perform such activities and the performance of them is a powerful contribution to one’s assurance. While a Christian knows that such actions by him are not perfect, he also knows that he would not have done them prior to his conversion. They are evidences to him of the great change that has taken place. And when he finds in his heart such eagerness to do them he sees that the Spirit has been working within him to give him such desires.

 

Third, when Christians are zealous for good works they help other Christians to become zealous as well. Those looking on, who perhaps are a bit fearful of doing some good works, realise that such good works can be done in a manner that glorifies God.

 

Fourth, the practice of good works is an expression of Christlikeness. Jesus said about himself in John 10:32: ‘Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’ Peter described the ministry of Jesus when he said that ‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him’ (Acts 10:38).

 

Our response

No doubt, we have failed at some time or even many times to do good works that please God. Since that is the case, we should come to God and confess our failures and ask for his forgiveness. We may have had to so many times, but we can still come again to God in repentance.

 

Andrew Murray wrote some encouraging words in connection with this verse from Titus: ‘“Zealous of good works!” Let no believer, the youngest, the feeblest, look upon this grace as too high. It is Divine, provided for and assured in the love of our Lord. Let us accept it as our calling. Let us be sure it is the very nature of the new life within us. Let us, in opposition to all that nature or feeling may say, in faith claim it as an integral part of our redemption – Christ Himself will make it true in us.’ We can takes his words of encouragement and realise that we can be zealous for good works.